Barriers of Communication Barriers to Communications can be anything that prevents understanding of the message is a barrier to communication. These barriers can be thought of as filters, that is, the message leaves the sender, goes through the above filters, and is then heard by the receiver. These filters muffle the message. And the way to overcome filters is through active listening and feedback. By knowing these barriers we can improve our communications.
Many physical and psychological barriers exist: Culture, background, and bias Poor Listening Skill Noise Ourselves Non-Verbal Signals Perception Assumptions Message Environmental Smothering Stress Improper use of Questions
Culture, background, and bias - We allow our past experiences to change the meaning of the message. Our culture, background, and bias can be good as they allow us to use our past experiences to understand something new, it is when they change the meaning of the message that they interfere with the communication process.
Poor Listening Skills - Poor listening skills top the list when it comes to barriers to communication. Poor listening skills can result from:
Lack of involvement with the other person or the topic at hand: you just don’t care enough to listen.
Distractions in the environment such as excessive noise or activity.
Disagreement with the speaker, resulting in mentally “shutting off” the other person.
Passive listening rather than active involvement with the speaker.
Noise - Equipment or environmental noise impedes clear communication. The sender and the receiver must both be able to concentrate on the messages being sent to each other. Ourselves - Focusing on ourselves, rather than the other person can lead to confusion and conflict. The “Me Generation” is out when it comes to effective communication. Some of the factors that cause this are defensiveness (we feel someone is attacking us), superiority (we feel we know more that the other), and ego (we feel we are the center of the activity). Non-Verbal Signals - One recent study showed that only 7% of our communicating is tied to what we actually say! A full 55% of communication happens through non-verbal signals, and another 38% is based on tonality. So if your non-verbal signals are contradicting what your mouth is saying, people are going to remember what you didn’t say. Perception - If we feel the person is talking too fast, not fluently, does not articulate clearly, etc., we may dismiss the person. Also our preconceived attitudes affect our ability to listen. We listen uncritically to persons of high status and dismiss those of low status. Assumptions - There are many assumptions we make while communicating with others. For instance, you might think that you know what the other person is going to say, so you simply “leave” the conversation. Message - Distractions happen when we focus on the facts rather than the idea. Our educational institutions reinforce this with tests and questions. Semantic distractions occur when a word is used differently than you prefer. For example, the word chairman instead of chairperson, may cause you to focus on the word and not the message.
Environmental - Bright lights, an attractive person, unusual sights, or any other stimulus provides a potential distraction.
Smothering – We take it for granted that the impulse to send useful information is automatic. Not true! Too often we believe that certain information has no value to others or they are already aware of the facts.
Stress - People do not see things the same way when under stress. What we see and believe at a given moment is influenced by our psychological frames of references – our beliefs, values, knowledge, experiences, and goals.
Improper Use of Questions - Many people believe that if they ask a multitude of questions, they are communicating well and connecting with the other person. This may or may not be the case! We must ask the right questions at the right time to get the information we need to communicate effectively. That means asking open-ended questions – questions that begin with who, what, when, why, where, and how. Open-ended questions help true discussion and understanding to take place.
Human Communication-The Basic Course
Human Communication Chp 4
Barriers of Communication
Barriers to Communications can be anything that prevents understanding of the message is a barrier to communication. These barriers can be thought of as filters, that is, the message leaves the sender, goes through the above filters, and is then heard by the receiver. These filters muffle the message. And the way to overcome filters is through active listening and feedback. By knowing these barriers we can improve our communications.
Many physical and psychological barriers exist:
Culture, background, and bias
Poor Listening Skill
Noise
Ourselves
Non-Verbal Signals
Perception
Assumptions
Message
Environmental
Smothering
Stress
Improper use of Questions
Culture, background, and bias - We allow our past experiences to change the meaning of the message. Our culture, background, and bias can be good as they allow us to use our past experiences to understand something new, it is when they change the meaning of the message that they interfere with the communication process.
Poor Listening Skills - Poor listening skills top the list when it comes to barriers to communication. Poor listening skills can result from:
Noise - Equipment or environmental noise impedes clear communication. The sender and the receiver must both be able to concentrate on the messages being sent to each other.
Ourselves - Focusing on ourselves, rather than the other person can lead to confusion and conflict. The “Me Generation” is out when it comes to effective communication. Some of the factors that cause this are defensiveness (we feel someone is attacking us), superiority (we feel we know more that the other), and ego (we feel we are the center of the activity).
Non-Verbal Signals - One recent study showed that only 7% of our communicating is tied to what we actually say! A full 55% of communication happens through non-verbal signals, and another 38% is based on tonality. So if your non-verbal signals are contradicting what your mouth is saying, people are going to remember what you didn’t say.
Perception - If we feel the person is talking too fast, not fluently, does not articulate clearly, etc., we may dismiss the person. Also our preconceived attitudes affect our ability to listen. We listen uncritically to persons of high status and dismiss those of low status.
Assumptions - There are many assumptions we make while communicating with others. For instance, you might think that you know what the other person is going to say, so you simply “leave” the conversation.
Message - Distractions happen when we focus on the facts rather than the idea. Our educational institutions reinforce this with tests and questions. Semantic distractions occur when a word is used differently than you prefer.
For example, the word chairman instead of chairperson, may cause you to focus on the word and not the message.
Environmental - Bright lights, an attractive person, unusual sights, or any other stimulus provides a potential distraction.
Smothering – We take it for granted that the impulse to send useful information is automatic. Not true! Too often we believe that certain information has no value to others or they are already aware of the facts.
Stress - People do not see things the same way when under stress. What we see and believe at a given moment is influenced by our psychological frames of references – our beliefs, values, knowledge, experiences, and goals.
Improper Use of Questions - Many people believe that if they ask a multitude of questions, they are communicating well and connecting with the other person. This may or may not be the case! We must ask the right questions at the right time to get the information we need to communicate effectively. That means asking open-ended questions – questions that begin with who, what, when, why, where, and how. Open-ended questions help true discussion and understanding to take place.
Communication - home